i wasn't born in a barn, but i got there as fast as i could.

Some of the barn ladies and I were talking about what our “next horse” would be. None of us are currently in the market, but we started sharing what our dream horse would be and how they would be different from our current mounts.

Of course you can probably guess what my answer was: “exactly the same as Frankie but with scope for 1.45m.” Hey, I know what I like.

But then I started thinking about it. If money was absolutely no barrier and I could custom design every single itty bitty little thing, what would I want in my next horse?

To start with, I want a dapple bay. A deep, dark dapple bay. No chrome please, just that beautiful chocolate color- though I wouldn’t complain about a big pretty blaze. At least 17-17.1 and big-bodied. A nice thick neck, sturdy legs, big solid hooves, a kind eye and refined face, big ol’ ears, and a gorgeously full tail. Perfect conformation goes without saying. Mare or gelding is fine, I’m not picky about that. Somewhere in the 8-10 years old range- old enough to know what they’re doing, young enough to have plenty of years to do it.

I want Next Horse to be easy to handle on the ground. They must not spook, nip, or sass when being led, no matter where we are or what we are doing. Next Horse will make cute faces for the camera every time. Next Horse (NH) will always stand quietly, ground tie perfectly, and never paw. There will be no girthiness and NH will take the bit happily every time I tack up.

Easy to handle, chill, cute faces: check

NH will get along well with other horses out in the field without getting overly attached. NH will never roughhouse and get scraped from playing, nor will NH ever lose a shoe from playing too hard in the mud. NH is not prone to sunburn, skin funk, sensitivity to flies, fungus, thrush, etc. NH is a model of robust health.

NO CHECK FOR YOU THIS TIME, MISTER I-LOST-THE-SAME-SHOE-4-TIMES-IN-A-MONTH

Under saddle, NH is super broke. There is lovely elastic movement at all gaits with good range of longitudinal adjustability. All lateral work comes easily to NH along with perfectly balanced non-automatic lead changes and counter-canter. In fact, I could probably take NH to a lower level dressage show without embarrassing myself. NH does not spook or get silly, even when it is super cold out.

Perfect? No. But he still gets at least half a check mark for being cute while dealing with me up top.

NH likes to trail ride, including crossing water. In fact, NH likes most things and will do them with little urging. NH is confident with or without other horses around. NH is sensitive to my aids but still forgiving- he doesn’t mind the occasional swinging leg or off-balance sitting trot. There is a great work ethic there- NH likes having a job.

18 million check marks for being forgiving.

NH can also jump a house. I’m thinking 1.45m to be on the safe side. NH will jump anything I point him at- liverpools, triple bars, open water. NH will soar over all of these at max height and width with ease. NH actually finds his own distances to these jumps as well. I can walk into any ring and know that NH will jump every jump without hesitation. NH is forward thinking but will re-balance when asked.

It may not be 1.40m, but he gets lots of check marks for always jumping the jumps no matter what.

So I guess what I said before pretty much still holds. I’d want a Frankie with GP scope. Lucky me for getting my dream horse (or did my dream horse slowly morph into a Frankie? Hmmm…).

I would love a 16.2-17h Irish sport horse that could pack me around Prelim and also fox hunt, trail ride, good brain, forward thinking but not run away, oh and be able to score well in dressage. He or she (no preference) would be a true black (not dark dark bay, I want deep black) and maybe a lovely stripe or blaze. Or a star. But would like some white on the face. Yes. That would be my perfect horse. Though I’d take a tricolored pinto, a buckskin, Palamino, ummm, heck any unique color that isn’t to hard to clean. Love a steel grey horse with a white tail (except the cleaning of said tail) but sadly they don’t stay that color long enough. But that would be my ideal horse 🙂

This topic has been on my mind a lot with my mare turning 20 and nearing retirement. I don’t really care what the horse looks like or the gender. All I want is something in your pocket goofy, willing to jump one day and hit the trail solo the next, and without anything dirty: no buck, rear etc…. That would do it for me!

Not to be all mushy, but I do think Charlie is my dream horse. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to top him. BUT since we’re going for perfect, I would say that I’d like a Charlie with 1.60m experience and scope. That way, 1.45m /1.50 would look easy to him 😉

I just wrote a blog post about this (thank you for the inspiration), and what I learned is that I really don’t know what I want. I love so many horses and it’s all for different reasons. I have some ideas about what I’d look for in my next horse, but what it comes down to for me is the relationship that I have with a horse. I want my next horse to be fun and talented, but I’d forgive a lot of “flaws” if we connect on a deeper level.